THE TONEARM She is finished and eager to party.
Vital statistics...
1. The arm is a 12-inch Unipivot. I prefer this type because it has nil tendency to chatter as compared to other bearing types (air bearings excluded). Furthermore, it is very easy to make. I would also rather live with the unipivot shortcoming (teeter-totter which can be alleviated by a counterweight of low center of gravity or through viscous damping) than contend with bearing chatter caused by looseness or binding caused by tightness or by contaminants. There is however an slight interplay between VTA and Azimuth but adjustments are very easy to do in this arm.
The "needle" and "vee" of the unipivot is made of brass.
2. The arm is made up of two kinds of wood. One is super hard wood called "Binayabas" by the locals in Real, Quezon. The other is a semi-hard Narra used for the arm top. The idea behind the use of two wood types is to prevent a single dominant resonant signature. Also, the Narra grain more closely matches the grain of the armpod.
3. The cross section of the tonearm is triangular instead of cylindrical in shape. It is very rigid and probably more structurally stable than the usual hollow cylinder configuration. For better weight distribution, it is slightly tapered from back to front. More importantly, making a triangular arm is well within the capability of the DIYer...it is basically made up of three strips of thin wood bonded together with instant glue.
4. Internal wiring is Cardas wire and terminated with a male DIN type plug. Pieces of foam are packed inside the arm to help damp vibrations and to keep the wires from rattling around (Minimizes triboelectricity-generated noise? Heheh, dust up those Physics textbooks guys).
5. There are easy adjustments for VTA, VFA, AZimuth and "Sweet Spot" or centroid shifting.
Tonearm unadorned and all alone
Some adornments clockwise: setscrews, unipivot needle with cylindrical damping paddle,
Azimuth counterweight, Sweet Spot Shifter, anti skate counterweight
Trying on the Armpod
Lovely pair all set for a night out
Oh my. A MOTOR, A MOTOR! My Kingdom for a good motor!!!(Hang on, we are almost there!)